&quot;Let Him Have It.&quot;

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Introduction

"Let Him Have It." Essay by Michele Dominique 9VR In this essay, I'm going to tell you about a film called "Let Him Have It." It's about two young boys who get involved in the killing of a police officer. Derek Bentley, 19, and Christopher Craig, 16, never thought they would get to a point where one of them had to kill someone when breaking and entering into a warehouse. The director, Peter Medak made the film because he wanted the audience to feel sympathy for Derek Bentley, who was executed for a crime he didn't commit. Whereas Craig, the young gangster who brutally murdered police officer, PC Miles, got only 10 years in prison because of being underage. The director showed us about Derek's early life by making the young boy look defenceless and innocent during the blitz. First came the flashbacks when London was under attack, where Derek was buried under a pile of debris. The mood was frantic, everyone was trying to help him and it was all chaotic. This childhood is completely different to Craig's one. Craig was a big troublemaker; he had a very rough childhood compared to Derek's. ...read more.

Middle

He was always trying to show them off, and one reason for this, is because his classmates used to take the mickey out of him for having dyslexia. He's the cocky and cheeky type, this shows that Craig has to act like this to make others aware that he is not scared easily and can stand up for himself. In the courtroom, Derek shaked and nearly had a fit when he spoke but Craig had his chin up and spoke clearly, with cocky confidence and arrogance to the judge. Derek admires and looks up to Craig because he finds everything great in Craig's lifestyle. Examples are friends, money, women, cars ...Craig makes it look easy about having a girlfriend, loads of friends, having a lot of money and possessing a nice car. Derek wants Craig's life because he thinks it's exciting and fun. The night when they decided to rob the warehouse was actually the night of the shooting. They both climbed over the gate, first Craig then Derek. At that precise moment, a little girl sees them and the police are alerted. When the police arrive, Derek's behaviour changes. He thinks about what his family will make of him -" My dad is going to kill me..." ...read more.

Conclusion

In the last part of the film, the build-up to the hanging is very emotional and stressful for everyone. The director tries to break our hearts, showing us the state of the family, people who support Derek; he does a close-up of the clock to indicate how much time Derek has before his brutal death. The music is very slow and gentle, so it can match the speed of the pre-execution. At around 9am, he's in his cell, saying his final prayers with a Priest. The actual hanging itself, happened so suddenly, you didn't have time to think about what was going on. Derek was shaking as the police officer gave him his drink to calm him down, then being taken away to his death place. When he was being executed, the speed changed very quickly as did the music, it went along with the speed- very fast. The way the director shows Derek, roughly handled by the men and how abrupt the procedure was, with a bag on his head and feet and hands tied up, makes us feel very sorry for him and angry with everyone who put him through that. And that's exactly what the director intended us to feel when he made this film. ...read more.

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Halfway through this particular scene the sad music that was in the credits begins to play, outlining that Derek Bentley was not normal and that in many ways he wasn't right for the world around him. Moving on, arguably the reason Bentley was hanged, an important character in the film is of course Christopher Craig.

In the year 1951 Bentley met Christopher Craig.A genuine friendship grew between them which was why they were so loyal to eachother.Craig was Bentley's only real friend,he stopped talking and contacting his old friends after he came out of approved school so much so they thought he was dead.This shows